The 3-Minute Solution to Procrastination
By Georgie Yiannoullou
Tasks that take two minutes or less are easy to knock off your to-do list. It’s the bigger ones – the 30 minute, the 60 minute, and the 90+ minute tasks – that induce hesitation. No matter how driven and focused you are, there’s simply no immunity from the paralyzing procrastination that comes with staring up at daunting tasks. And the larger and more intimidating the project, the more likely you are to conjure up excuses to slow your start.
The next time you feel a knot in your stomach about a task, take it as a positive indication. Steve Chandler, author of Time Warrior, says, “Fear tells us what we have to do. The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”
Chandler offers a simple, time-based method for quickly building momentum for anything we’re reluctant to start: give yourself three-minutes.
Now knowing I only have a three-minute commitment I just do the thing I was procrastinating about! I just make that a policy! Just do that one thing– you know what it is– it’s the thing you’re thinking about right now. Don’t think in terms of patterns. None of this: “I always” or “I never ” because those globalizing thoughts will never serve you. They will scare you and make you a pessimist. Keep your life creative and simple: what needs to be done now in these three minutes? That’s all you ever need to ask, and you’ll never have anything like procrastination bother you again.
Think about one small action you can take in the next three minutes that will move your project forward. Then take that action, and soon enough you’ll gain just enough traction to keep breaking down your goliath project into bite-sized bits. How else are you supposed to eat an elephant, right?
